House price growth was already slowing before the Brexit referendum

Halifax house price index for June shows pre-EU referendum slowdown in housing market.

House price growth slowed in the run-up to the European Union (EU) referendum on 23 June as activity in the market softened while many buyers and investors awaited the result.

Halifax said in its monthly index that the average UK house price rose 1.2% in the three months to the end of June, reaching £216,823 ($281,503), a slowdown from 1.5% quarterly growth in May. Annual growth was 8.4%, slower than May's 9.2% and the lowest rate for 11 months.

"There is evidence that the underlying pace of house growth may be easing," said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist. "House prices continue to increase, albeit at a slower rate, but this precedes the EU referendum result, therefore it is far too early to determine any impact since."

Britain voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU, a move dubbed Brexit, triggering political and economic uncertainty. A Treasury analysis of Brexit released before the vote suggested a severe economic shock could send house prices falling by as much as 18%, though early anecdotal reports from estate agents suggest there has been no sudden disaster in the housing market.

Housebuilder share prices have fallen sharply since the referendum. Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Economics, said the scale of these declines implies a 5% drop in house prices in 2017. "The markets are factoring in a pretty big hit to consumer confidence," Tombs said. "That means that demand to move home suddenly falls."